Ice swimmer Andrew Ryan goes from Redcliffe to Rovaniemi chasing love

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Ryan, 33, a born and raised Queenslander, is based in London where he works as a lawyer for a US firm that buys and markets the digital rights to sporting events. When his Finnish girlfriend Inka Karppinen took him home to meet her family in 2008, she introduced him to the local custom of ice swimming.

Basically the Finns cut a hole in the ice, dunk themselves in the freezing water for a few seconds then head to the sauna. Ryan said he’d give it a go.

“It’s amazing what you’ll do when there’s a blonde involved,” he said.

Photo by Tarja Ryhannen Mitrovic